(CNN) - Tempers flew at a Massachusetts gubernatorial debate Tuesday night, as the four candidates hashed out their positions just six weeks before the election.

Independent Tim Cahill took on Republican Charlie Baker during the debate hosted by CNN's John King, saying Baker lied about him in campaign ads.

"When you're lying about my record on TV and you're not taking responsibility for your record ... how are the people of Massachusetts going to trust you?" Cahill asked Baker during a portion of the debate in which the candidates asked each other questions.

In an effort to support Baker, the Republican Governors Association launched a television, radio, and internet ad blitz, as well as a new website Tuesday - all of which focus on Cahill's stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

"Tim Cahill – reckless with our money," a narrator says in the new RGA television ads.

Cahill responded Tuesday evening with a web video.

"Charlie Baker and his Washington friends are desperate to tear me down with over a million dollars in negative attack ads," Cahill says in the video as he looks straight into the camera's lens. "People are sick and tired of the old way of party politics. Attacks ads won't fix our economy. Attack ads won't create jobs for the middle class. They represent the past. My campaign for Governor represents the future."

In a statement announcing the release of the web video, Cahill campaign manager Adam Meldrum called the GOP ads "nothing short of a Hail Mary to try and save Charlie Baker's flailing candidacy."

The most recent poll in the race indicates that Gov. Patrick holds a slight edge over his two rivals in a three-way general election match up.

–CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

(CNN) - The effort to unseat Gov. Deval Patrick is kindling the bipartisan spirit in Massachusetts. Tim Cahill, a former Democrat who became an independent last year, announced Friday that he had signed up four veterans of Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential bid.

The McCainites include John Weaver, who was the senator's longtime political adviser, and speechwriter Mark Salter, who the Cahill campaign describes as McCain's "alter ego." Cahill also said he has brought on two other McCain political minds: John Yob and Mike Dennehy. "These guys are the best in the business," Cahill said in a statement.